THE DEFENCE SCHEME.

Colonist, Volume LIII, Issue 13020, 8 February 1911, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE DEFENCE SCHEME.

(From "The Colonist," Jan. IG.)

The vigour with which the preliminary details of the inauguration of the defence scheme given to the- Dominion Ijv last year's Act are being carried out is a satisfactory indication of tlu* determination of the authorities to build the now system on a firm basis. At the camp of instruction now in progress in tho Wellington district, it seems that tho training of the area officers and noncommissioned officers, upon whose efficiency or otherwise success or failure will depend, is being prosecuted witli a degree of thoroughness which, even in the short space of time available for tho work, gives promise of tho best results. Upon the completion of the term of training in camp these officers, or such of them as arc finally retained, will be drafted into the areas into which the Dominion has bren divided, and the effects of the new order of things will then begin to be felt by the community. Tlio first duty of the permanent officers will be to undertake tho registration and recruiting necessary to bring the territorial force and tho general training section up to the new establishment. The memorandum issued to officers commanding districts, portions of which wo published last week, docs not give much information as to how this work will bo done, but it may bo taken for granted that eligible men will hare few opportunities of evading their obligation, as the important concession regarding the age limit made in last year's Act will render vigorous recruiting necessary to enlist the requisite strength. In the general approval with which tho scheme has been received, one point in regard to it seems to have escaped tho notice it deserves, and that is that although tho now system is ostensibly based on the principle of compulsory service, the principle of volunteering -t is not eliminated". So far from this being the case, very substantial inducements are offered to young men j

within the ages of compulsion to enrol themselves as territorials, in which tho enthusiast will find far more scope than an the general training section. Ho Avill also possess, within limit?,the' privilege of selecting the unit in which ho desires to serve, he will find the time required by his ordinary vocation less encroached upon, and generally he .will bo ablo to discharge his military duties under more congenial conditions than if he fails to becomo a territorial and is later compelled to drill with the general training section. The training of the territorials will be more calculated to turn out efficient soldiers than that of the other branch of the service, and the voluntary principle which will to a large extent underlie it should be found a powerful factor in promoting enthusiasm and efficiency. The invitation issued to men arcady in the forces, but who are j over the age of compulsory service, to remain territorials will, it is to be hoped, meet with a ready response. As the memorandum very justly points out, the effect of the exemption already alluded to of men over the age of 21 years, will have the effect of filling the force with very young men, and a leavening of maturer years and experience- in tho ranks would have, especially at tho outset, a most beneficial influence. It may safely be expected that the enthusiasm which led thousands of men to give ungrudging service as volunteers will induce them to remain in the ranks of the territorials under the more encouraging conditions promised. It is evident, even at the present early stage, that the officers who have been selected to inaugurate and control the new system of defence are qualified to make it a success. We anticipate with a considerable degree of confidence the Croatian of a citizen army which will be. well worth the sacrifice it will involve, and which will attain to the ideal set by Lord Kitchener : A force which will be> an integral portion of the national life, and in which the nation as a whole will take a pride.